It’s our most challenging standing desk comparison yet: a Swedish standing desk with a Swedish name versus a Nordic-named sit stand desk that has lots of similarities to our FRISKA Stockholm. Yet dig a little deeper, and the differences become clear.
Typical. You wait ages for a sit stand desk created in Scandinavia, and then two come along at once.
In the yellow and blue corner we have FRISKA (the name means ‘healthy’ in Swedish). Although the desktops are made in the UK to keep the carbon footprint low, the frames really are made in Sweden.
In the opposing corner is Flytta, which means ‘move’ in Norwegian, Swedish and Danish. It means ‘fly away’ in Finnish, though, which must leave Finnish buyers of the desk scratching their heads. Like FRISKA, Flytta desk frames are also made in Sweden for SitStand.com, Flytta’s parent company. The comparisons don’t end there, as we’ll discover shortly.
As with our other comparisons, and in the spirit of full disclosure, we’re a sit/stand desk company and so are they. Nevertheless, and despite the fact we clearly have ‘skin in the game’, this is a genuine comparison using information drawn from publicly available content and our own insight. We promise we’ll stick to the facts.
NOTE: All information correct at time of writing.
What are we comparing?
Say hello to the FRISKA Stockholm, our most popular height adjustable desk.
Here’s the Flytta 2 from SitStand.com. Other Flyttas are available and as an alternative there’s always the Yo-Yo (also from SitStand). You can find our Stockholm/Yo-Yo desk comparison here.
We’re choosing the Flytta 2 as it’s the one that most closely matches the specs of the Stockholm.
Standing desk comparison: What’s the same?
Let’s cut to the chase: in numerous areas there’s barely a cigarette paper between the FRISKA and the Flytta 2. All the below are virtually identical between the two desks.
- 2 motors to lift and lower the desks
- A maximum load of 120kg (including the desktop of 20kg)
- 4 frame finish options (silver, black, white and anthracite)
- Free delivery in 1-2 days
- Anti-collision detection and overload protection
But as similar as the two electric desks appear to be at first (and even second) glance, there are plenty of differences too.
Height
Range comparison (in cm):
|
FRISKA |
Flytta 2 |
|
59.5 – 130 |
64 – 130 |
The Flytta 2’s specifications suggest its maximum height when fully extended is 130cm (frame only). We’d humbly suggest that that’s not quite right. Having got our tape measure out, both standing desks extend to exactly the same height, which is 130cm to the work surface, but 127.5cm to the top of the frame.
If there’s nothing to choose between the desks at maximum height, things seem a little different at the other end of the scale. According to both site’s published specs, at their lowest height there’s a 4.5 cm difference to the underside of the desks.
If a low minimum height matters to you, there’s only one winner.
Standing desk comparison: Adjustment speed
Adjustment speed (in cm/sec):
|
FRISKA |
Flytta 2 |
|
4.2 |
3.3 |
Does the adjustment speed of your height adjustable desk really matter? It’s not as if any desk is so slow that you have time to make a coffee while it raises and lowers. And yet, with almost a whole cm per second between the Stockholm and the Flytta 2, there’s enough of a difference to matter.
Years of standing desk development know-how have taught us that it’s the little things that matter. If your desk feels just a little slow when you first get it, you can bet that by the time you’ve lived with it for a while, its slow pace can really start to grate.
It’s not just the leisurely pace that can irritate, either...
Standing desk comparison: Noise level
Mechanism noise (in dB):
|
FRISKA |
Flytta 2 |
|
38 |
<50 |
Decibels don’t mean a great deal to most of us. That’s why we’re big fans of the American Academy of Audiology (AAoA) who provide a helpful guide to what they mean in real world terms. At 38dB, the FRISKA Stockholm’s noise levels when raising and lowering sit between a quiet library and a whisper. The Flytta’s slightly vague ‘less than 50dB’ means it could be the same as the FRISKA. Then again, it could be the equivalent of moderate rainfall.
Neither comes close to being noisy, but if you’re in a room with others and you’re raising and lowering your desk a few times each day (which is the ideal way to use your standing desk), quieter will always be better.
Standing desk comparison: Sturdiness
Whenever we run our standing desk comparisons, sturdiness is always the FRISKA Stockholm’s knockout blow. That’s usually down to the fact that most competitor desks are made in the Far East, and the Far East tends to favour the rather less robust ladder-type underframe for its desks (not least because it’s cheaper). It’s often pretty good, but it can’t compete with the U-beam cross brace that helps give the FRISKA its rock-solid performance.
But the Flytta also uses a U-beam. Not only that, the fixings that secure desktop to frame—in terms of number and quality—are also near identical.
But there’s one other major contributor to desk sturdiness for which we couldn’t find any published information in relation to the Flytta…
Mast construction
If you’ve ever assembled anything with telescopic legs—from a garden gazebo to a camera tripod—you’ll know that the more you extend the legs the wobblier things get.
Wobble is a major issue with any telescopic leg but it’s absolutely critical for a standing desk, because even just a little bounce or sway can make your Zoom meetings look as though you’re dialling in from the deck of a ship. Without total sturdiness, even typing can create enough screen vibration to give you a migraine.
To achieve that sturdiness, standing desk companies use a plastic insert between the telescopic sections of leg that enables just enough movement for them to glide up and down, but not so much movement that it detracts from the experience. Most desk companies use a standard insert which keeps bounce and wobble low, but a standard insert still allows room for just a little movement.
By contrast, our engineers at FRISKA custom machine each insert to each leg to tolerances of less than 0.01 mm. We don’t know the tolerances to which Flytta operates because they don’t state them but in our experience, nothing beats a FRISKA Stockholm.
Standing desk comparison: Finishes
Possible finish combinations (standard)
|
FRISKA |
Flytta 2 |
|
72 |
48 |
We’ve already established that the Flytta 2 offers exactly the same frame finish options as the FRISKA Stockholm. When it comes to the desktop, however, you get six more options to explore with the FRISKA which means a total of 24 additional frame/desktop finish combinations.
Both standing desk companies offer non-standard finishes. At FRISKA, the possibilities are virtually limitless. Whatever the colour, just ask and we’ll give you a quote. SitStand’s site wasn’t clear as to the extent of the Flytta 2’s non-standard finishes.
Standing desk comparison: Sustainability
It’s a little difficult to compare sustainability between the FRISKA and Flytta standing desks, because when you click on Flytta’s ‘sustainably certified’ icon you’re shown details for SitStand’s Yo-Yo desk.
We’ve assumed for the purposes of this comparison that the Flytta’s sustainability credentials match those of the Yo-Yo:
- Both companies’ desktops come from FSC-certified forests.
- Yo-Yo desk frames use 26% recycled steel (and we therefore assume Flytta’s do too). FRISKA uses 30% recycled steel.
- Both desks use sustainable packaging
- SitStand plants trees via a third party when it sells desks. So does FRISKA. Thousands of trees have been planted as a result of both companies’ operations, although it’s fair to say SitStand have planted more.
- SitStand’s warehouse is part solar powered. We’re working on ours.
- Both height-adjustable desks have some of the lowest carbon footprints you’ll find. With steel from Ukraine, frame construction in Sweden and desktops from the UK, both desks cover many fewer miles than most of the competition.
Standing desk comparison: Delivery and installation
|
FRISKA |
Flytta 2 |
|
Delivery: Free next day with self-assembly (2pm cut off) |
Delivery: 1-2 days with self-assembly |
|
Installation: Yes, usually within 14 days - chargeable |
Yes, usually within 7-12 days – FREE |
Both companies are super speedy on the delivery front. FRISKA despatch same day when you order before two. That means, in most cases, your standing desk will be with you next day. Shipping is free to virtually all the UK mainland.
The Flytta 2 comes with a faster installation service and it’s free, although you might want to check the prices of the two standing desks before making a decision based on this alone.
With FRISKA, installation is available in 10-14 working days. It’s chargeable, and while the individual price is quoted at £157, that price drops dramatically when you order more desks for assembly at the same time, although most of our customers choose self-assembly.
Give us a call for an installation quote
Standing desk comparison: Controls
Until recently, this would have been another head-to-head that ended in a dead heat. Both electric desks offer an up down control switch as standard and there’s an option to upgrade to a 4-memory-setting controller to preset your preferred heights.
But not so fast. FRISKA now offers Bluetooth control as standard too, which gives you the option of installing the physical controller, choosing the app/phone operated option, or using both.
The Bluetooth option comes with memory presets, so unless you want a physical control option you no longer have to pay for a controller upgrade. Better still, with the controls on your phone, there’s no chance of the desks position being altered by anyone but you.
The FRISKA Bluetooth controls also allow you to custom set your own anti-collision sensitivity, making the Stockholm the safest standing desk available, a must if you have kids and/or pets anywhere near!
Standing desk comparison: Accessories
We’ve covered controls, but what about the other accessories you might need to complete your desk setup?
The Flytta 2 offers numerous cable management, power, monitor arms, standing mats and castor options. Its cable port holes are free.
The FRISKA offers a wider range of accessories (including chairs, lockable drawers and pedestals) and similar power, monitor arm and cable management options. FRISKA also offers free cable port holes in one of three colours.
Overall, you’ll be able to build a more complete workstation package more simply with FRISKA.
Accessory prices are kinder with the FRISKA too.
We built a cart of comparable accessories across both sites to demonstrate just how much kinder:
|
FRISKA |
|
Flytta 2 |
|
|
Accessory |
Price £ |
Accessory |
Price £ |
|
Visby Twin gas assisted monitor arm |
157.5 |
LEVO Dual gas assisted monitor arm |
190 |
|
Set of 4 castors |
27.5 |
Set of 4 castors |
30 |
|
In-desk power socket (inc USB A & C) |
FREE |
In-desk power socket (inc USB A) |
70 |
|
Cable management tray (heavy duty) |
89.83 |
Cable management tray (deluxe) |
72 |
|
Total |
274.83 |
Total |
362 |
|
|
-87.17 |
|
|
Standing desk comparison: Guarantee
You’ll get a decent 7-year warranty with your Flytta 2 height adjustable desk. You get a considerably better 10-year no-quibble guarantee with a FRISKA Stockholm.
Standing desk comparison: Reviews
Take a look at FRISKA’s Google reviews and you’ll find 275 of them, all but three of which are 5*. Google reviews aren’t verified though, so in 2020 we opened a Trustpilot account to add a layer of independence. On Trustpilot, 89% of our reviews are 5*. We’re particularly excited by the fact that our customer reviews reference our service almost as often as they wax lyrical about our standing desks.
Flytta desks don’t have their own Trustpilot account and, despite the site suggesting otherwise, nor does parent company SitStand.com as far as we can tell. Yo-Yo, one of the company’s other motorised desk brands, does, although its 5* Trustpilot ratings are a slightly lower 80% compared with FRISKA.
Standing desk comparison: Payment
Curiously, we’d swear SitStand used to offer a spread-the-payments offer via Klarna. Unless we’ve missed it, that option doesn’t appear to exist now. Choose a FRISKA Stockholm and you can still pay via Klarna, split the payment into three manageable chunks, and pay no fees or interest.
Standing desk comparison: Price
It’s not always easy to compare standing desk prices. The Flytta 2 is a perfect example of why. Its base price of £959.94 doesn’t include a desktop, which tends to be fairly essential for your average workstation.
There are five desktop sizes to choose from with the Flytta and when you add in a 120 x 70cm top the price shoots up to £1,055.94. You’ll pay a little more for most larger tops.
At just £799 the FRISKA Stockholm includes a 120 x 70cm desktop as standard and, like the Flytta, the price rises a little as the desktop size increases. You get seven desktop size options with the FRISKA.
There’s no escaping the fact that the FRISKA Stockholm comes in a solid £256.94 cheaper than the Flytta. As we’ve seen, as you add in accessories, that price gap widens even further.
All of sudden that free installation with the Flytta 2 seems a little less appealing, doesn’t it?
FRISKA vs Flytta 2: the winner is…
The Flytta 2 is a very good standing desk. But the FRISKA Stockholm is quieter. It rises and lowers faster. It offers Bluetooth control as standard and a greater choice of desk sizes, finishes and accessories.
It’s cheaper too.
Bring the best standing desk to your office. For help in finding the right FRISKA for you, call us now on 0330 133 1937 or email sales@friskadesk.com.